Empyrean Capital Partners LP Lowers Holdings in Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Key Points

• Empyrean Capital Partners cut its Liberty Energy stake by 66.7% in the first quarter, selling 800,000 shares and retaining 400,000 shares worth approximately $11.52 million. Institutional investors collectively own 98.22% of LBRT.
• Liberty Energy reported quarterly earnings of $0.09 per share, beating estimates by $0.01, while revenue rose 14% year over year to $1.19 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $31.09.
• Insiders sold 54,012 shares worth about $1.67 million over the past 90 days, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, representing a 2.1% annualized yield.

Empyrean Capital Partners LP reduced its position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 66.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 400,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 800,000 shares during the quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned about 0.25% of Liberty Energy worth $11,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LBRT. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 79.6% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Liberty Energy during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Liberty Energy during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total value of $249,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,046,185.60. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 9,999 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $258,874.11. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 773,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,031,377.79. This represents a 1.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,012 shares of company stock worth $1,673,803. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LBRT shares. Zacks Research lowered Liberty Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Liberty Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 price target on Liberty Energy in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.09.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 2.9%

LBRT stock opened at $16.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.54. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.90 and a 52 week high of $34.48. The company's 50-day moving average price is $26.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

Liberty Energy Company Profile

Liberty Energy Inc provides hydraulic services and related technologies to onshore oil and natural gas exploration, and production companies in North America. The company offers hydraulic fracturing services, including complementary services, such as wireline services, proppant delivery solutions, field gas processing and treating, compressed natural gas (CNG) delivery, data analytics, related goods comprising sand mine operations, and technologies; and well site fueling and logistics. As of as of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of approximately 40 active hydraulic fracturing; and two sand mines in the Permian Basin.

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